Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides

ScotGov: New guidance on hospital car parking has been issued to the NHS. A review group set up to look at parking charges recommended a maximum charge, but said that further analysis was needed to determine what the maximum charge should be.

As an interim measures, boards were advised at the end of last year that they will not be able to charge more than £3 a day for hospital car parking. Boards are also instructed to publicise more widely concessionary parking and operate them more flexibly.  The guidance applies whether a car parking facility is provided by the NHS board or a commercial concern.
Press release ~ Review of Hospital Car Parking - Revised Guidance - CE 1 (2008) ~ Scottish Partnership Forum ~ Scottish Health Council ~ Better Deal campaign on the cost of travel and car parking
 
NICE:  The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published final guidance on the use of pemetrexed disodium (Alimta) for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

The guidance recommends pemetrexed disodium as a treatment option for MPM in people who have a World Health Organization (WHO) performance status of 0 or 1, who are considered to have advanced disease and for whom surgical resection is considered inappropriate.
Press release ~ Guidance, together with the decision of the Appeal Panel
 
NICE: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued guidance on promoting and creating built or natural environments that encourage & support physical activity. 
 
The guidance highlights that environmental factors need to be tackled in order to make it easier for people to be active in their daily lives and provides evidence-based recommendations on how to improve the physical environment to encourage physical activity to improve health.
Press release ~ Physical activity and environment guidance ~ Sustrans’ Active Travel Programme ~ Space Syntax
 
BERR: New guidance for business on the definition of a "package’ holiday has been published, which provides greater certainty for the travel industry on what is a complex area. Package holidays offer safeguards not available with other types of travel and these benefits mean different legal obligations for the businesses selling them.
 
Simon Bunce, ABTA's Head of Legal said: "This is a very good assessment of the High Court Judgement decision on what is a package.  However, we are still urging companies to seek specific advice about their own holiday products as this remains a complex area of law in need in reform by the European Commission."
Press release ~ What is a Package: A guidance note for travel organisers ~ Guidance For: The package travel, package holidays and package tours regulations 1992: Definition of a package – Government response ~ Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) ~ Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) ~ Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA)
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